When Doves Cry
by eccino
Summary: Life was never meant to be easy for the purebloods. For the Blacks and the Malfoys, it's all out war. And for Lucius and Narcissa, it's flat out hell. *Note: This story will contain some vague adult scenes, mutilation, and character suicides, although nothing should be too vulgar. Please let me know if the rating needs to be changed.
1. Chapter 1

_Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything here. I've had this sitting for ages, so I figured I may as well start posting it. I've got 94 pages worth of it, up to around chapter 8, as well as quite a few scattered chapters following that, which just need to be put in order and have fillers put in. Unlike my other (failed) story, I actually have this one fully planned out, so this one may just be finished. =) I did briefly have a few chapters of this published under a different title as well before yanking it to work on them. Also, i would just like to say that I am not a student, so the time of the year doesn't make a difference for my management of updates. Instead, I'm a full time mother of two rambunctious toddlers - they'll determine my update rate!_

_thanks for reading!_

_- amber _

_How could you just leave me standing alone in a world so cold? Maybe I'm just too demanding. Maybe I'm just like my father, too bold. Maybe you're just like my mother; she's never satisfied. Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cry. – __**When Doves Cry by Prince**_

**Chapter I**

The Woes of a Six-Year-Old

"No, you can't do that, it's cheating!"

"No one ever said I had to play fair! And it's not my fault you're so short."

"Stop it! Gimme back my dolly!"

"Gimme gimme never gets!"

"Why are you so mean to me?!"

"I'm not mean, you're just a wuss."

"I am not a wuss, you take that back!"

"You're such a baby! Wussy wittle baby! Does the wittle baby want her dolly back?"

"I'm telling on you! Mummy!"

"NO! Wait, don't!"

But it was too late. The little girl had run off, screaming for her mother, leaving a horrified looking boy behind. It took him less than a minute before he went tearing off after her, precious dolly dropped without a second thought. By the time he had caught up, though, she had climbed on to her mother's lap, large tears streaking down her five-year-old face as she spilt an unintelligible rush of words, tattling on the six-year-old boy that had been picking on her, making Andromeda and Bellatrix, who had been sitting with the two mothers, frown at their youngest sister.

"Nu-uh! I didn't do it! Mummy, she's lying! I swear!" he protested quickly to his own mother, who was sitting across from the woman whom the girl was crying to.

The two women looked at each other with a frown before the second woman silenced her son. "One at a time and Narcissa was here first. Now, darling, what's the matter?"

The boy glared at his mother for a moment. Whose side was she on? Treacherous woman.

"H-h-he t-t-t-t-took my d-d-dolly and wouldn't g-g-give it b-back!" Narcissa sobbed, playing up her drama so that the adults would take more pity on her by pointing an accusing finger at the boy.

"Did he now?" cooed the second woman, before looking at her son while the first smoothed down her daughters hair and gave her quiet reassurances that they could get her another dolly.

"No, Mum, I didn't! Why would I take her stupid doll?" Lucius snapped, sparing a glare for the girl who had just dared to tell on him.

"Lucius Malfoy, you know better than to lie to me," Evelyn snapped at her boy. It was obvious he was lying. "And you know better than to act like this."

"Oh, Eve, lighten up. They're just kids and I'm sure they were just playing," Druella said with a shake of her head, Narcissa curled up slightly on her lap, all tears gone by now and a rather smug look upon her tiny face as she stared down Lucius. "Lucius didn't mean any harm and Narcissa tends to take things over board-" a comment that earned her glare from her daughter- "Don't be so hard on him. It's fine."

At least someone was going up to bat for him and, after she had finished, he looked back at his mother with an attempt at a sad look. It wasn't working; Evelyn was just shaking her head.

"See, Druella, that's the difference between having girls and having a boy. You can go light on girls, they grow to marry and you know that. A boy must grow in to a man and lead his household. He won't manage that if we're too light on him," Evelyn snapped, waving a dismissive hand. They had to be hard on Lucius. How else would he learn? Druella frowned, but got the clear message that she ought not say anything further. After all, Lucius wasn't her son. "Lucius, apologize to Narcissa."

"But Mum, I-" came his attempt to rebuttal the short statement and avoid the order and was interrupted by his mother with a sharp, "Now!'

He shot the woman a cold glare before looking down at the ground, kicking a spot while he avoided saying what he had been told to say till Evelyn gave him a threatening look. He finally mumbled, "Sorry."

Evelyn cocked an eyebrow at him. "For?"

He would have turned and walked away if he was sure his father wouldn't hear about it if he did. He glared at his mother before looking back down, unable to meet the far too smug face of the little girl, and muttered even softer, "For taking your doll."

"Good. Now, go inside and tell your father what you've done," Evelyn said, turning back to Druella to continue their gossiping.

"No, Mum, I don't want to, don't make me!" he said quickly, looking at her in shock. Go tell his father? What was wrong with the woman? He couldn't go tell his father he'd misbehaved!

She looked back down at him, brows raised. "Lucius, either you confess and go tell him yourself or I'll tell him later tonight."

The boy stared at his mother. She would run to father, wouldn't she? And it would be ten times worse if Abraxas heard it from her rather than from Lucius himself. So with a glare at Narcissa, who was smirking at him, he turned and headed inside to find his father. Humph. It would be better to be inside with his father than out here with these women anyway. He made a face, kicking at the ground as he headed inside, mumbling to himself about how unfair life was. He spared a glance back, only to see Narcissa stick her tongue out at him.

Lucius glared at her before heading inside. Dumb girl. Probably had cooties, whatever those were. It was better to be inside anyway, Father was much more interesting. He made his way through Malfoy Manor, heading up to the parlor room where his father and Mr. Black were discussing business, or whatever it was that grown men discussed. He ought to find that out, he'd be a grown man in a year or so – in his mind, he would be, at least; couldn't take longer than that.

He knocked on the slightly open parlor door, hearing the voices pause. Abraxas frowned lightly, looking over at the door. The knock was closer to the ground, so it wasn't his wife, nor was it Cygnus's. So it was one of the children. From there, it wasn't too hard to figure out which one. There was always a rather distinct knock from his son and it clearly said he wasn't anticipating this. "Come in, Lucius."

How his father always knew it was him, Lucius could never figure out. But he pushed the door open and walked in, bold as possible, and climbed up on to the arm of the chair his father was sitting in without saying a word, but giving Cygnus a smile. The other man gave him an amused smile in return, raising his eyebrow.

"What are you doing in here, Lucius? Shouldn't you be outside playing with the girls?" Abraxas asked, putting an arm around Lucius so he didn't fall off the slim armrest he had perched himself on.

Lucius made a face at his father's suggestion. "Mother was being mean to me."

"And how was mother being mean to you?" Abraxas asked, brows raised curiously.

Lucius paused for a moment. If father knew the whole story, then he might just take his mother's side, Mr. Black certainly wouldn't be happy. But then again, Mother had said she'd tell him later. Best to tell him now. "I was playing with Cissy and she decided to go running to mum and Mrs. Black and claim that I stole her doll. And mum believed her over me and made me… apologize-" he sneered at the word- "So I came inside."

There was silence for a few terse moments, Abraxas and Cygnus exchanging knowing looks. It made Lucius nervous. Father was going to pick Narcissa's side too, wasn't he? Of course Mr. Black would, he'd jump to defend his little girl. Snobby little brat probably got everything she wanted. And then, just when Lucius was thinking it would be better to leave, the two men started laughing. It was familiar territory for the both of them and exactly what little boys were supposed to do. Of course Evelyn wouldn't understand. Then again, Evelyn had always wanted a little girl and found Cygnus and Druella's three girls an absolute delight.

"Sounds about right," Abraxas said with a shake of his head after a few minutes of laughing and reached for a new cigar from his pack, lighting it with his wand, but then paused for a moment while he looked at Lucius so close to his lap, seeming to reconsider it. He had been told repeatedly that he oughtn't do that. And it probably wasn't a good sign that Lucius was staring at it, barely containing his urge to reach out a grab it. Sighing, he put it out and instead ruffled Lucius's hair.

It was without further comment on what Lucius had told them that Cygnus and Abraxas continued on with their conversation and didn't take more than half an hour for the young boy, grown bored of the grown up conversation, to slip off the arm rest and fall asleep on his father's lap.

Grey eyes peeked around the corner, quiet as can be, watching keenly as his parents fought – or, as they put it, had a disagreement. He should have been in bed hours ago, so it was vital that he wasn't spotted. Mother was rather particular about being in bed on time and not getting back up. But this fight was far too interesting for him to remain in bed.

"You can't keep treating him like that, Evelyn!" Abraxas tiredly informed his wife.

The woman, who was clearly not amused, had her arms crossed and her brows raised. "Treating him like _what_, exactly? Tell me what I did that was so horrible!"

He stared at her in shock. Did she really not now or was she just playing this complete idiot? "You humiliated the boy! You can't force him to apologize for something that he might not have done! You don't trust him; you're always taking sides against him, especially when it concerns one of those Black girls! You didn't even listen to his side of the story this morning!"

"How would you know what I did and did not listen to? You weren't outside with us!" she snapped.

"I do not need to be outside with you to know what happened," he said tersely, shaking his head. "Lucius told me what happened, I'm sure I'd have gotten your recount of it otherwise. And either way, it's always the same. One of those girls comes crying to you claiming Lucius did something and you never even listen to the boy!"

"Does it matter if I listen to him or not? Honestly now," Evelyn returned, taking a sip of the red wine she had served before the fight had started. "You're right, it is always the same. Lucius always does something rotten to one of those girls and I always have to set him right! How is he going to learn to be a man and how to treat women with you constantly coddling him and letting him get away with whatever he wants?!"

Coddling him? Abraxas did not coddle him! He gave her an incredulous look before shaking his head. Alright, so maybe now and then he spoiled his son. But he could afford to do that and his son was only six. "He is not yet old enough to learn to be a man and how to treat women, but when he is of proper age, it is my job to teach him, not yours!"

"It's not my fault if you're terrible at your job," she replied snippily. Obviously Abraxas was not fit to be a father in her eyes. Why couldn't she have just had a daughter? That would have made things so much easier and they wouldn't be having this debate.

"I'm terrible at my job?" he repeated, shaking his head. This woman knew no bounds, did she? "You really think I'm doing a terrible job of raising my son? This coming from the woman who doesn't even bloody want him?!"

"It's not that I don't want him, don't you dare go saying that," Evelyn returned, lip curling slightly. "It's just-"

"No, no 'it's just', Eve," Abraxas interrupted, waving a dismissive hand. "I've been hearing this song from you since the day he was born and it hasn't changed a single note! 'Oh, of course I love him, I just wish he was a she', or 'Why couldn't I have had a girl?' Do you really think I don't remember that night you tried to put him in a dress because you so desperately wanted a girl?! And do you think it's passed my attention that you've been inviting the Blacks around so often merely because they have three girls for you to spoil more than your own flesh and blood?!"

Evelyn stared at him throughout his little speech. Well, if that was how he wanted to play it, fine. At least there was no longer a need to be discreet. She drew herself up to full height, nose going in the air. "I'm going to bed. I'll be staying in one of the guest bedrooms until I see fit."

"You do that," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, settling back down in his seat with a cigar, cutting off the end of this new one and lighting it with the aid of his wand. After a glance around the room, during which Lucius had to duck back to avoid being seen, he sat for a few minutes, considering a few things before, "Shouldn't you be in bed, Lucius?"

Shoot. The boy bit his lower lip, debating running back to his room and deny ever being there. But as he'd discovered, Father preferred it when he just came out with whatever wrongdoing he'd done. It took a second more for him to build the guts, but he stepped back out in to the opening, looking at his father sheepishly.

"Isn't it a bit late, son?" Abraxas asked, his brows raised curiously.

Lucius shrugged, reaching up to scratch the bridge of his nose lightly. "Maybe."

Maybe. He fought the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Why aren't you asleep, then?"

There was another shrug from the boy as he clearly debated his answer. He didn't think that, 'I wanted to watch you and mommy fight' was the right answer, so instead he decided to go with, "I couldn't sleep."

Abraxas seemed ready to question why he couldn't sleep when he instead put out his new cigar and stood up with a loud sigh. He could finish the cigar later. For now, there were more important matters to deal with. "Come on, boy. Let's get you to bed."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

Nightmares and First Years

It had been several days since Lucius had watched his mother and father fight and his father had taken him off to bed. He had not seen his mother since then. Father had been, thus far, unable to explain where his mother had gone, and why, and for how long. All father really seemed to be able to tell Lucius was that mummy went away and she's very sorry about it. But he couldn't understand why father looked so depressed some of the time and why things around the house were so different. So, truth be told, he was glad that father had decided to go and visit with the Blacks. He was just glad to be away from the unhappy atmosphere that was Malfoy Manor.

Abraxas, Cygnus, and Druella had left the four children in a playroom on the second floor so they could step down the hall and discuss the matter. Lucius frowned lightly before settling down on a rocking chair, watching the three girls. Andromeda had barely cast a glance at Lucius before returning to her book. Narcissa had stopped the game she'd been playing with Bellatrix and got up, walking over to stand beside Lucius curiously.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked, rocking back and forth on the balls of her bare feet, hands behind her back.

"I'm sitting," Lucius said plainly, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Why are you always so mean to me?" Narcissa whined, stopping her rocking and crossing her arms to frown at him.

Much to her surprise, though, Bella rescued her, walking over and putting a hand on her youngest sister's shoulder. "Don't worry about him, Cissy. He's just sour because his mummy doesn't love him and abandoned him all by himself."

Lucius jumped out of the rocking chair to glare up at the older girl. "She did not! I don't need her anyway, Father and I will do just fine!"

Bellatrix laughed cruelly while Narcissa just giggled. Andromeda had put down her book and come over to join her two sisters in the taunting of Lucius. Bellatrix continued on in the banter at his expense. "Father and you? Pray tell, little Lucius, what father?"

Lucius frowned in confusion. What father? What kind of question was that? "_My_ father. People tend to have both a mother _and_ a father. Or is that concept lost on you?"

Bella smirked evilly. "You don't have a mother _and_ a father. Hell, you don't even have a mother _or_ a father."

"I do too!" Lucius snapped, not sure why Bella was telling him that. Just because his mother was on vacation didn't mean she wasn't coming back or that he didn't have a father.

"Why do you think you're here, Lucius?" Andromeda interrupted, smug smile firmly in place. Lucius gave her a confused look, but before he could question, Narcissa had picked up with a laugh in her voice. "Your father came to negotiate with our dad. He's selling you to us and you're going to be our pet. We even made a bed for you down in the boiler room where the house elves sleep."

"I am not being sold to your father and I am not going to be your pet!" he protested angrily, leaving the room in a huff to find his father, the three girls tailing him. He got to the parlor room in time to see Cygnus Black handing a large bag of what was probably galleons to Abraxas. He frowned deeply. "Father, what are you doing? What's going on?"

Abraxas glanced over at him with a shrug. "I don't want you any more either, so I figured I'd at least make some money off of you and sell you to the Blacks. From what I hear, they even set up a bed for you down in the boiler room with the house elves."

Lucius's shocked look just grew more and more shocked and by the end of his father's explanation, he was nearly in tears. He reached over and grabbed on to Abraxas, shaking his head as the three girls laughed from the doorway.

Narcissa looked at Lucius with a smile before, "I wanna do his hair!" And that was followed by, "I get his nails!" from Bellatrix, and then from Andromeda, "Well, then I get to pick the dress!"

"No, daddy, I don't want to, dad, please don't make me!" he pleaded with his father, shaking his head quickly. Abraxas merely shrugged and handed him off to Cygnus, all of them ignoring his pleas and protests, the three Black girls giggling behind him. "No! Daddy!"

"Damn it, Lucius!" Abraxas snapped, slamming the bedroom door open and causing the now eleven-year-old boy to jump, waking him from the nightmare. "How many bloody house elves do I need to send here to wake you up, boy?"

Lucius was catching his breath, looking around the familiar bedroom. His bedroom. He hadn't been sold to the Blacks to become a pet. Narcissa hadn't done his hair, Bellatrix hadn't touched his nails, and Andromeda most certainly did not put him in a dress. Here he was, at home in Malfoy Manor and in his very comfortable, if not over sized, bed. Abraxas frowned at Lucius, realizing exactly what was going on within a few minutes and rolled his eyes.

"Had that dream again, Lucius?' he asked, brows raised. Lucius nodded mutely as he moved to get out of bed and situate himself. He'd been having this dream for a while; the two had gone over it multiple times. "And who did I sell you to this time?"

Lucius glanced up at his father for a moment before sighing. "The Blacks."

Abraxas broke out laughing. "Boy, if you're going to keep having these dreams, at least have it be a about a family that would actually buy you. Now hurry up and get your arse out of bed or you'll miss the train."

"Train?" he asked, frowning up at the older man, obviously rather confused. He had gotten lost and forgotten what today was in the throes of his nightmare.

"Yes, Lucius, the train. You know, the one that takes you to school? I've explained this to you before and if you haven't gotten it by now, you're hopeless!" he said, having to raise his voice a bit on the last few words as Lucius had jumped out of bed quickly and excitedly, dream forgotten about, and disappeared in to the bathroom to get dressed quickly. Abraxas shook his head. What was he going to do with that boy? After a moment, he sighed again. "Dottie!" he snapped for a house elf and it instantly appeared. "Make the bed and send the trunk down to the entrance hall. When Lucius is ready, send him to my study so we can go."

* * *

The platform of 9¾'s was rather crowded, as it always was. Abraxas and Lucius had gotten there with at least fifteen minutes and Lucius had stored his trunk in a compartment before coming back off to finish talking with his father. Much as he looked forward to Hogwarts, he was still nervous about it. He had no doubts as to which house he'd be in, that didn't worry him. But he had gotten used to people doing as he told them to, even if he had to resort to asking. Hogwarts wouldn't be like that. And he wouldn't have any house elves to knock in to line when he was bored.

Just as he was getting back to his father, he saw the man with Cygnus, Druella, and their three girls, discussing something or other (he didn't get grown up talk), which made Cygnus laugh. Father wasn't telling them about his dream, was he?

"In all fairness, though, he had it coming," Abraxas finished. Good. Wasn't his dream. But he did eye the three girls apprehensively. At least, he didn't think it was. Who had it coming for what?

Bellatrix and Andromeda were looking around, obviously for friends. Andromeda grinned first and kissed her mother and father on their cheeks before excusing herself to go talk to her friends over by the train. Going in to second year was much, much easier than going in to first year. Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"Bellatrix, be nicer to your sister this year, please? Promise me," Druella asked her oldest, who was now going in to her third year.

"She's so second year, Mother, I make no promises," Bellatrix said as she stuck her nose up in the air and flounced off to find her own friends.

Cygnus rolled his eyes after her before looking back at Abraxas. "Seriously, be glad you only have one and that one's a boy. So much simpler than dealing with these three."

"I don't know about simpler, but I am glad I don't have to deal with the sibling rivalry," he said with a shrug as Lucius made a face. Siblings.

"What about you, Lucius? Are you looking forward to your first year?" Druella asked in a kinder tone than she'd spoken to Bellatrix in, smile spread on her face.

Lucius nodded quickly, barely noticing the jealous look on Narcissa's face as she clung on to her mother's arm. "Yes, ma'am. Looks like fun."

Druella fought not to laugh at the ma'am part. Whatever suited him just now was fine with her. "Are you nervous?"

"I don't get nervous about anything!" he said with a face, standing up straighter. Druella did laugh this time, along with Cygnus, who elbowed Abraxas gently.

"Careful there. You might just have a Gryffindor on your hands," Black said, smirk across his face, causing Malfoy, Sr. to growl slightly.

"Better not be a Gryffindor," he muttered, shaking his head. Dreadful house.

Lucius shook his head quickly. No. No, his father had explained this the night before. He protested the Gryffindor claim quickly. "No! I'm not going to be in Gryffindor. I'm gonna be a Slytherin!"

The three of them laughed this time, Narcissa looking around curiously before Abraxas leaned over to say something to Cygnus. Lucius had lost interest as well. He looked over at Narcissa again to see that she had released Druella and was edging towards the train, rather curious about it. After glancing one more time at their parents, he went off after her, sneaking up behind her to startle her.

"What are you doing?" he asked quickly as he poked at her sides, causing her to jump.

Narcissa turned to frown at him, jealous pout on her face. She looked back up at the train. "I wanna go. Do you think Mummy and Daddy would notice if I just got on the train and left with you guys?"

Lucius nodded after a moment of contemplation. "Yeah, you know, I think they are likely to notice. But don't worry about it, you'll be coming next year anyway."

Narcissa still pouted as she finally looked away from the large red engine to face Lucius. "Will you still be my friend next year? Bella and Dromeda have already sworn they won't know me until I'm in my third year."

He made a slight face. Why would her own sisters do that to her? "Of course I'll still be your friend next year."

Narcissa's face light up a bit at that and she smiled at him. "Will you write me? Tell me how the sorting's done and all that? Tell me everything; I'm going to be so bored. I'm still not used to having either of my sisters around."

"I'll write you," he reassured with a smile just as the train blew its warning whistle. It would be departing soon. "Hey, I'll see you at Christmas, alright?"

"Yeah. Christmas," she said with a slightly crinkled nose just as their parents caught up and Cygnus pulled her up to carry her.

"And where did you think you were going, little missy?" he asked with his brows raised as Abraxas said good-bye to his son.

Narcissa shook her head quickly. "I wasn't going anywhere, Daddy, I promise!"

"Really?" he asked, brows raised at the girl. "Because if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to sneak off to Hogwarts a year early."

She gasped and looked at her father, wide eyed. "Of course not, Daddy! Why would I do that?" she asked before looking around again. Lucius was getting on the train and she started waving violently. Now, she'd be stuck with Sirius and Regulus, neither of which was very fun. Sirius was six and rather annoying. Regulus was four and baby talk was even more annoying. The last of her friends was going to Hogwarts, and she still had to wait a whole year to join them.

* * *

Lucius eventually found his way to the compartment that he'd stowed his trunk up in. There was a boy who was sitting in there, nose in a book. He frowned at the bright red hair that was behind the book, pausing a moment to consider things. The boy was older, but not by much. He went in with a small roll of his eyes, taking a seat, frown deepening as the boy lowered his book to regard Lucius.

"Can I help you?" Lucius asked in a clipped tone, brow raised cockily.

He shook his head slightly, dispatching the thoughts that had been on his mind while he debated who this boy was. It wasn't as if he was intruding, there was plenty of room and his friends wouldn't be in for a few more minutes at the least. "No, I suppose not. I'm Arthur. And you are…?"

"Malfoy," he said, pausing a second before amending, "Lucius Malfoy." He was quiet for a moment before, "Arthur who?" he finally asked, deciding that this wasn't a Black, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, or any other pureblooded well-to-do family he knew.

"Weasley, sorry," he said with a small smile, holding out a hand to shake. Lucius regarded the hand with another cocked eyebrow before proceeding to ignore it. Weasley? Didn't ring a bell. It took a total of fifteen minutes for Lucius to decide that this Weasley and now his friends (who had joined him within ten minutes) that this clearly was not the compartment for him. It was filled with blood traitors and mudbloods. With a disgusted sneer, he got up and left the compartment to find somewhere else to sit, hoping desperately that none of that was contagious as he managed to find the compartment with the two older Black sisters and an entourage of Slytherins. Much better.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

Christmas with the Blacks

**_a/n;_**_ this is really just a filler chapter. I needed to do something with the characters that involved them just being kids._

Narcissa had been miserable, being cooped up inside with a mild case of Dragon Pox. So when her father left for the train station to pick up Bella and Dromeda, she was excited that there would finally be someone to play with. And then when father had shown up not only with her two older sisters, but with Lucius and his father as well, she was ecstatic. Forget the orders from the Healer that said she needed to remain in quarantine. She was 10. Did they really think she'd remain confined for long? Even if mother had said it was the best idea and no one would be too thankful to her if she came out. Besides. What did contagious mean to a 10-year-old girl? So, she had run downstairs happily to join all the people in the entrance hall, tackling her sisters and Lucius, not even hearing her parents yelling at her to get back.

All of two days in to the winter vacation, Narcissa sat on a large, over-stuffed arm chair, smile on her face and kicking her legs slowly and looked around the room. Lucius, Andromeda, and Bellatrix all sat scattered throughout the room, sending her glares. It hadn't taken very long for Narcissa to spread her cold throughout the younger members in the house.

"So… anyone wanna play a game with me?" she asked hopefully, brows raised as she looked around.

"Narcissa, please. None of us are feeling good because of this damned cold-" _which you gave us, probably on purpose –_ "And none of us really want to play. Or talk. So just be quiet, please."

Narcissa quieted down, making a slight face. It didn't last for very long. "I've got a whole bunch of board games and cards we could play with!"

"Just shut up, Narcissa!" Bellatrix snapped, sending her a threatening look, using a much more harsh approach than Andromeda had just tried.

"You know, I got this new game we could try out," she offered after another moment of silence.

"Narcissa, shut up!" Lucius snarled this time, obviously not enjoying his incarceration. The three of them had spiked the same fever Narcissa had had in the first few days of being sick, and now the incredibly itchy rash was welling up all over and their skin was all turning a greenish tinge. Narcissa, who had been sick the longest, was the only one who was starting to turn back to normal color and no longer had the rash.

She was quiet for a few more minutes, biting her lip before, "How about we-"

"SHUT UP NARCISSA!" the three occupants of the room snapped at her, all glaring.

"Well, if you didn't want to play, you only had to say so," Narcissa huffed, getting out of her chair and going in to the adjoining room that they were confined to so she could, once again, play on her own.

* * *

Thankfully, all cases of Dragon Pox had been cleared by the time that Christmas day rolled around. Unfortunately, Christmas Day itself had come with the company of Sirius and Regulus, along with their Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion. The two boys seemed determined to tear down the house with their fighting. By noon, their fighting had gotten the three girls and their guest involved. Arguments led to fist fights, which led to an elbow in the eye for Narcissa, a smashed nose for Sirius, a loose tooth for Bellatrix, a bite mark on the arm for Lucius, a bruised cheek for Regulus, and a bit of a bald patch for Andromeda when their parents finally intervened and pulled the six of them apart, Walburga typically screaming at Sirius since he had to have been the one who started it, never mind that Lucius and Bella had been making snide remarks in his direction for nearly an hour.

By the time dinner came around, the adults had entirely forgotten the pervious fight and they all had to sit together at the Children's Table, Bella muttering something about how unfair it was that she had to sit there at 13-years-old (she wasn't a child anymore, didn't they get that?). Lucius, Bellatrix, and Narcissa were talking amongst each other only, while Andromeda was telling Sirius something about some charm to fix something and Regulus was happily making a castle that looked more like he was just making a large mountain out of his mashed potatoes. Other than a disagreement over whether or not the potatoes should be a castle or should be eaten, the table was quiet enough. And then it was time for presents. There was enough there to keep the six of them so fully distracted for the next decade, there was no worry about the rest of the evening. It was nearing 9:30 when Sirius passed out on an armchair, Regulus having been out for about an hour already on Walburga's lap. So the three older men were fairly confident in Druella and Walburga's ability to make sure no one died and headed off to the study to discuss something. It seemed, though, that the children had other plans.

"Lucius, come on!" Bella whispered after peeking in to the room to be sure that the mothers were just sitting there gossiping, Regulus still fast asleep, Sirius and Andromeda playing chess. The sooner they got outside to the stables, the better.

"Wait for me!" Narcissa whispered in a voice that wasn't too soft, running to catch up with her oldest sister and her friend.

Lucius frowned back at her slightly. "Are you sure you want to come?"

"Yeah, Cissy-baby, aren't you still afraid of the dark?" Bella sneered, rolling her eyes. Her little sister was starting to get on her nerves at the moment. First getting her sick and now tagging along?

Narcissa glared at her. "I'll be fine, Bella, thanks for your concern."

The older girl shrugged and glanced back in the room again. Andromeda was giving Sirius a big chance in the game and purposely losing, Druella and Walburga had found a topic to discuss that would take them hours, and Regulus was still snoring. She crept passed the opened doorway, followed by Lucius and Narcissa. The three of them made their way silently through the house and out the kitchen door. Bellatrix pulled out her wand and muttered a charm to light the tip of it. Lucius glanced at her a moment before pulling out his wand and attempting the same charm, coming out a success much to his delight. Narcissa only frowned, near pouting as she was unable to do the same without a wand or any schooling at all.

"Where are we going?" Narcissa finally asked when they passed the fountain, frowning slightly. Maybe she should have found that out before she came.

"Why, you scared Cissy?" Bella taunted, rolling her eyes. "Maybe you should've listened and stayed back."

"I'm not scared, I'm just curious!" she protested, glaring at the back of her sister before looking over at Lucius, hoping to get an answer out of him.

Lucius glanced over at her, frowning slightly. "We're just going down to the stables."

The stables. The stables were fine; she'd been there loads of times. During the day, that is. She kept close to Lucius, determined not to further irritate her sister. She'd ask what they'd be doing down at the stables if she was sure that Bella wouldn't hex her silent. It didn't take more than another fifteen minutes for them to reach the stables. They crept in quietly though a side door, still being guided by the small light provided by the two wands.

Lucius looked at the horses before looking over at Bellatrix, eyebrows raised. "Which one is it?"

"That black one down there," she said, jerking her head in the direction of the end of the stables. Barely visible in their dim light was the black beast, tethered to the wooden rail by more than one rope. Narcissa frowned and looked sharply at her sister. That was the one horse their father couldn't get under control and now Bella and Lucius were going to do something to it?

Lucius paused a second before, head held high, he headed down to the end of the stables to look at the large animal. It was all a game, after all. She'd dared him to do this and he would not back down. Backing down was embarrassing. It wasn't like he was a baby anymore, after all. But he couldn't remember what he was supposed to be doing. He glanced quickly down towards Bella before looking back at the horse, keeping his eyes on it as it snorted angrily at the light in its eyes.

"What am I supposed to be doing again?" he asked, hoping his voice didn't betray any hesitancy on his part.

"Just riding it," she said with a simple shrug. "Like you said, taming a horse is an easy thing to do. So do it."

"Bella, Daddy said we aren't supposed to touch him, though," Narcissa interjected, tugging on her sister's sleeve.

"Shut up, Cissy!" Bella snapped, shaking her off. She looked back at Lucius. "You're not chickening out, are you?"

"No!" he said a bit too quickly, glaring at her. Just ride the thing. That was all he had to do to get Bella to leave him alone.

"Lu, Daddy said we aren't supposed to! You shouldn't!" Narcissa tried again. It was bad enough they were around the smelly beasts, but to recall that her father said that one was dangerous and that Lucius wanted to ride it? He was insane.

"Cissa, just go back to the house," Lucius snapped back at her. He proceeded to ignore her as he looked back at the now awake Abraxian, who was snorting angrily at the boy for waking him. Just as Lucius put up a hand to attempt to touch the snout, it pawed at the ground and snorted again, causing Lucius to jump and Bella to snicker. He glared over at the girls, determined now more than ever to do this and pulled out his wand to cut the rope tethering it. He soon discovered that that was, in fact, a very stupid move to do. He should have attempted to mount before unleashing the large animal as he went to step around it and it reared up, kicking the arm that flew up to protect the boy's face and snapping it in half before darting for the door. Bellatrix, being the one to think on her feet, quickly climbed up in to the rafters while Narcissa stood there screaming.

* * *

They had wrapped up their talks when Abraxas had noticed the time and decided that he needed to get Lucius back to the manor and in to bed. Cygnus led the way down the hall back towards the room they had left Druella and Walburga in and found them in the same seats, gossiping as women did. Sirius had slid down to the floor and was stretched and twisted in angles only boys could possibly sleep in while Walburga still held Regulus. Cygnus frowned as he pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead. There was something missing.

"Dru, where are the kids?" he asked with a frown, interrupting their talk. Abraxas had been wondering the same thing and raised a curious eyebrow.

Druella pulled herself from the conversation and shook her head. It took Cygnus to be so suspicious. "Sirius is there, Regulus is on Walburga's lap. Andromeda said something about going to her room to read. And Bella, Cissy, and Lucius are over…" she gestured towards an empty spot in the room and paused to frown. "Were over there. Wally, did you see where they went?"

Walburga looked over with a frown and shifted Regulus on her lap. They had been in that corner, conspiring something or other. "They were there. I have no clue where they went, they didn't say a thing."

Orion stared at them. They were given just one task of watching the children and they would rather gossip? He was just about to berate them for their lack of attention when a blood-curdling scream came in through the windows, causing all heads to snap in the direction of the grounds. Well. That couldn't be good.

It took barely a second of consideration before the three men were darting out of the houses as fast as their aging bodies would let them, wands drawn. The sound seemed to have come from the stables, and that was where the three of them headed. And there! The black one that Cygnus had just recently gotten was on the loose, cutting a warpath. A quick enough curse cut the raging Abraxian down as it came in to sight, rearing up yet again with a tiny blonde figure in front of it, still shrieking.

The rest of the distance was closed quickly enough and Narcissa climbed swiftly in to her father's arms, shaking and sobbing, hiding her face in her father's neck. Stepping in to the stables revealed Bella, still perched up in the rafters with her still-lit wand dropped in the hay beneath her and Lucius still at the end of the stalls, arm tucked to his chest and curled around it, whimpering in pain. Abraxas crossed the dirty floor to heal his son's arm and yanked him to his feet by the upper arm, leading the way to where Cygnus stood as Orion got Bella down from the rafters. The anger coming off all three of them gave the children enough sense not to say a word and allowed their parents – and in the case of Bella and Orion, the uncle – march them to the house.

* * *

The Malfoys had left as soon as they'd gotten back to the house and Abraxas was sure that everything had settled down. So, Narcissa had chosen to write Lucius a quick letter to find out if he was alright. It was, really, the only thing she could do concerning her friend. Now that father was finished yelling, though, and the house had settled down, it was safe to sneak across the hall into her sister's room. Lower lip caught between her teeth, she was careful to tip toe across the hall and quietly pushed the door open.

Bellatrix was just settling in to bed and frowned at the door before realizing who was sneaking in. "What do you want, Narcissa?"

She hesitated a moment. Bellatrix definitely sounded angry with her. "I just… I wanted to see if you're okay."

Bella rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she finished settling in, pulling blankets around her. "Well, I'm fine. Grounded until this time next year, but fine. You can go now."

Narcissa glanced at the door behind her and crept closer to the bed, standing on the opposite side that her sister was sleeping on. "I'm sorry. That you're grounded."

"Just go back to bed. I'm tired; I want to go to sleep. So just go," Bella sighed, shaking her head as she tried to ignore the little blonde on the side of her bed.

Once again, she glanced at the door, lip caught in her teeth before looking back at her older sister, frown in place. "I couldn't sleep. Can I stay with you tonight? Please?"

"Narcissa!" Bella groaned, deep frown in place before looking over at her. The girl was beyond spoiled and drove her eldest sister mad on every occasion possible. There was everything about Narcissa that Bella just couldn't stand. Including the fact that she could be as furious with her as she wanted, but Narcissa was still her baby sister. She sighed deeply. "Fine. Just stay on that side of the bed."

With a happy smile, Narcissa climbed onto the bed and, rather than stay on the side allotted to her, squirmed over to curl up against her sister and fell fast asleep. There were no horses in here and it would be a very long time before she set foot near another.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

Plus One

**_a/n;_**_ A really shore and pathetic chapter._

The rest of the school year had gone by with no further event and summer was just as boring. Lucius had found that, after the Christmas incident, his father wasn't as keen to take him over to the Blacks. Something about Bellatrix being a bad influence and Lucius needing to learn how to act around ladies. As if he could consider Bellatrix, Andromeda or Narcissa a lady in any event. Either way, it was evidently considered poor behavior to disappear with two of them and wreak havoc in the Black stables. So it had been on September 1st when he and his father reached Platform 9¾ to go back for his second year that he saw them again and was reminded that Narcissa was only a year younger and thus was starting her first year at Hogwarts. Abraxas had stopped to chat, but rather like Bellatrix and Andromeda, Lucius had decided that he was going to go and find an empty compartment. Really, being seen with ones father at the train station was horridly embarrassing.

He wasn't sure how long his father had stayed out there, laughing with Cygnus, but it didn't matter entirely too much. He'd found a compartment and, rather than searching out his friends, they'd found him. Walden Macnair, Gregory Goyle, Martin Crabbe, and Charles Avery. There was another boy in their year, Alexander Dumond, but his accent annoyed Lucius a great deal. If you were French, why didn't you go to the French school? He had, though, saved one seat and he was watching out the compartment door for the person he'd saved it for. It was only polite, after all, and she was his friend. He'd hate for it to get back to his father that he had poor manners.

Crabbe and Goyle strummed up some sort of competition between the two of them and, while they were at whatever they were fighting over, Lucius kept an eye out the door. Finally, the little blonde head he was watching for came around, her walk a little hesitant and unsure of where she was going. Lucius got up from his seat and stepped over to the door, leaning out slightly.

"Cissa! Come sit in here with us," he invited, reaching out to grab her trunk for her and pulling it in after him and putting it up top. At the entrance, the two stopped the fight they were in the middle of to exchange frowns and look at the new addition.

Avery was the one to speak up. "Um. Malfoy. That's a first year. Shouldn't she be… with the rest of the first years?"

Lucius cocked a disdainful eyebrow at the boy. "I know she's a first year. What difference does that make? Weren't you a first year last year?"

"Yes, but now we're _second _years and as such, first years don't belong with us," he replied, sneering slightly.

Narcissa shook her head at her friend, eyes rolling slightly. "It's fine, Lu, I'll go see if I can find someone else to sit with. Maybe Be-"

Lucius frowned a bit, raising a hand to silence Narcissa. He really didn't want to lose this fight. That would be weak. "No. I believe I was the first one in here, so technically, this is my compartment. If you have a problem with who I invite to sit in my compartment, Avery, then perhaps you should find your own compartment, where you can choose whatever company you wish to keep."

The boy glared slightly at Lucius. He was being kicked out? Really? For a first year? He got up and grabbed his trunk. "C'mon, Walden. There are less crowded compartments elsewhere."

Macnair frowned at his friend before sighing. Fine. It wasn't like he was comfortable or anything. He got up and pulled down his trunk as well to follow Avery out. Lucius closed the door after them, making it rather evident that no one else was invited in, nor were Walden and Charles to be invited back. He put Narcissa's trunk up and sat down, arms crossed and legs up on the seat across from him, just a bit moody now. Narcissa, feeling decidedly awkward, sat down silently in the seat near his feet, watching him a moment before looking out the window. It was going to be a long first train ride.

* * *

The sorting had been embarrassing, but it could have gone much worse. She could have ended up in Gryffindor, which would have been just horrid. But she was a Slytherin, where she was expected to be, and glad to be there. This house held everyone she knew outside of school, including her sisters.

Narcissa had found her way to a couch in the common room, settled between Lucius and another friend of his, Rabastan Lestrange. Rabastan, who was in the same year as Lucius, had been otherwise preoccupied on the train, as he'd explained when Lucius had found him earlier that evening. They were all playing some sort of game; she had yet to figure it out.

So far, she got that you needed to tell some sort of lie. And then if your lie was detected, you had to do something, something the person who caught you dared you to do. But if they accused you of lying and you weren't, well. She wasn't sure what happened then. So far, it looked like either most of Slytherin were very good at lying, didn't want to face what happened when you were caught lying so didn't lie, didn't want to get caught trying to catch a lie, or, if you were Lucius or Rabastan, accused everyone of lying and had them too intimidated to tell you they weren't lying. And if you were Narcissa, you lied anyway and no one challenged that due to the boys sitting protectively on either side of her.

And if you were Andromeda, you were sneaking out of the common room whilst everyone else was distracted with the stupid game. She glanced back down the hallway, making sure no one was following her. Bella had already told their parents she had made friends with people who they most certainly wouldn't approve of. Admittedly, when she'd come to Hogwarts, she had believed their ideals about blood and purity. She had been uncertain about such cold heartedness, but she had believed them. Until the moment she met what they called a mudblood and had seen nothing wrong with them other than that they were a little confused.

She had to go through quite a bit of the castle to get up to the 'safe' corridors. No Slytherin would be up this high in the castle at this hour. A smile crossed her face as she entered the empty classroom her group of Ravenclaw friends were hanging out in. Much better.

"Annie! Come 'ere, I wanna show you something!" called one named Ted Tonks. He was holding up some book that looked like someone's diary with a grin on his face. Well. She was still a Slytherin; these were the sorts of things that they found naturally interesting.

* * *

It was late. Every other member of her dormitory had already fallen asleep. Except Narcissa. She just couldn't sleep. It wasn't that the bed was uncomfortable, but rather that the room had to be shared with so many other people. And it was an entirely unfamiliar place. Once sleep had proved impossible here, she'd gotten out of bed, pulled on a robe and sought out her sisters. Andromeda's bed was empty, but Narcissa really didn't give it a second thought. She headed for Bellatrix's, only to be shooed out of the room by a very tired, very cranky sister. And so, she ended up in the common room to find a surprise. Lucius was still up, lounging out on a couch and just staring at the fireplace.

"What are you doing up?" she asked curiously, crossing the room to sit beside him on the couch, earning a shrug.

"I don't sleep very much," he replied distractedly. Truth be told, he didn't sleep very much because he didn't want the other boys in his dormitory to know of his nightmares. Not that that particular truth would ever be told. "Why are you up?"

"I couldn't sleep and Dromeda isn't in her bed and Bella kicked me out," she said, yawning widely. It wasn't that she wasn't tired or, like him, didn't sleep much. She just couldn't. She climbed over him, though, to sit on the inside of the large couch rather than perched on the outside and proceeded to settle down against him, making the twelve-year-old boy frown and shift uncomfortably.

"You know, maybe you should go back up to your room and try your bed again. You never know, if you just lay down and close your eyes, you could fall asleep up there," he said uncomfortably, arm held out wide so he was as far from holding her as possible.

"Just shhh, Lu," she muttered, closing her eyes as she rubbed her face a little on his shirt, clamping an arm around him as if he were a rather large teddy bear.

"I don't think this is allowed, we could get in to trouble," he tried again. No answer. He frowned and moved enough to see her face. She couldn't have fallen asleep that fast. He poked her side. No response. "Cissa, come on. You're not sleeping. Cissa!"

When she didn't answer, he tried to remove himself from her grip, only for her to tighten her hold. Finally, he sighed and settled down. Oh well. They'd just be out of there before anyone else woke up. He'd still be awake. Smiling as her pillow gave up struggling, Narcissa drifted off to sleep easily in her spot, Lucius not far behind her.

* * *

When Lucius woke up in the morning, Narcissa was gone. The common room was still fairly empty and a quick glance at the clock on the mantle of the common room said it was only just after seven. He was fairly confused, frowning briefly at the empty side of the couch before he got up and stretched out. There was enough time for a hot shower and breakfast before his first class at half passed eight. He left the common room up for his dormitory, fetching his clothes for the day and proceeding to the shower, moving quickly through the motions before he dried off and dressed swiftly, running to the Great Hall for breakfast and slowing as he noticed the Slytherin table. Narcissa was already there, sitting with Rabastan, who was rolling with laughter. Narcissa had a wide smile on her face as she related a story to his friend. He picked up his pace a tad, frown in place as he approached and sat next to Rabastan.

"So what's so funny?" he asked a little tightly, putting a few pieces of toast on his plate as he frowned a little more at the young blonde across from him.

She returned his frown with an even wider smile, something that caused Lucius more concern. "Nothing, really. I was just telling Rabastan about that time that when we were playing outside by the pond and Drommy accidentally fell on to Bella and she fell in. Do you remember? When she came out, there was all this gross wet grassy stuff on her head and a fish down her dress?"

He relaxed instantly. Of course Narcissa wouldn't be spreading bad stories about him. He gave a little chuckle as well, nodding briefly. He did remember that. Bella had been spitting fire for weeks after that. Narcissa said something then about having to run off for her class, leaving her there with Rabastan, who had finally managed to calm himself down, still grinning like a fool as he grabbed a piece of toast and glanced at his friend. "So. You weren't in the dorm last night."

Lucius paused a moment at that. No, he wasn't in the dorm last night. But no one had ever commented on it. "No, I was studying."

"Uh huh. Studying," he replied with a wider grin and a knowing nod.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Malfoy asked through some toast, doing a good job of pretending to be uninterested in this conversation.

"It just means you weren't studying," he explained simply, pouring himself some more juice. "I was up earlier than usual this morning and came down and saw you two on the couch. You're miserable to wake up, though, so I settled for waking Cissa up."

Lucius froze at that. Someone had seen? And that was why Narcissa had been gone when he had woken up. She didn't even seem remotely embarrassed about it, either. "She cornered me last night. I couldn't get away and ended up just falling asleep while I waited for her to do the same. It didn't mean anything!"

"Hey, I wasn't implying anything!" Rabastan defended swiftly, throwing his hands up in surrender. "I was just commenting that I saw you."

"And how much do you want to keep quiet?" the blonde said stiffly. He could afford anything the Lestrange wanted. But his friend simply shook his head.

"I don't want anything. I don't plan on saying anything. Merlin, Lucius, you're so paranoid," he said, downing his glass of juice quickly as he got up. "I need to go get my books. I'll see you in class, yeah?"

Rabastan was gone before Lucius could say anything in return, leaving him instead glaring suspiciously at the doors of the Great Hall.


End file.
